The Song Remains The Same
I have had more political discourse with people I love in the last 24 hours than I can remember, maybe, since we elected Barack Obama. People in my family and personal life that I have a lot of respect for, love, and care about deeply. Thursday night was the Nixon/Kennedy debate reincarnate. Our empathizer in chief Joe Biden, who I have the utmost respect for his life of service to this country, he is a big fucking deal. He also, is done, I don’t see how he recovers from this, but if he doesn’t decide to bow out we still have to vote for him.
Before the debate started, I had a very negative view of CNN as a news outlet. I like Anderson Cooper, especially when he gets drunk on air at the new year, but this was journalistic malpractice. Much like in 2016 when CNN aired full Trump rallies live, giving platform to the racist, xenophobic, self-centered rantings of a conman, in the debate their failure to stop him when he didn’t answer questions or fact check any of the sewage he spewed on their airwaves makes it clear to me that I will never trust them for anything ever again.
It will be interesting to see what comes of the first polls after the debate is baked in, but I am predicting catastrophe. Biden probably edges out Trump if the election is held this past Wednesday, but we are in a different place now. A two point slip in national polls would be a death sentence, and I think it will be worse than that. My thought of him winning rests upon victory in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, where I have to assume progress was lost Thursday night.
The corporate owned Democratic Party could decide to take action and make a change at the convention, but my pessimism makes me believe that they won’t. I think that Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer, and Josh Shapiro would all make much better candidates and all are capable of beating Trump in November. However with this Democratic Party, sadly, the song remains the same, vote in step against the orange man, and we are likely stuck with Biden in November.
Believers in sanity, the rule of law, free and fair elections, and the American experiment are at a crossroads right now. Joe Biden is not the answer, but the question is still, ‘How can we prevent Donald Trump from turning this country into a dictatorship?’ Unfortunately, right now Joe is still the last man in the trench, holding the line, and will I still vote for him? Absolutely. We can do so much better than this, however, and options should be considered like the world depends on it, because it does.
We Believe in Nothing Lebowski
“Say what you will about the tenets of national socialism dude, at least, it’s an ethos.”
That’s a line from my favorite movie, ‘The Big Lebowski.’ One that would never be quoted in any political context, unless there was a White Russian referendum on the ballot. The character Walter in the movie is trying to explain that nihilism, caring about nothing, is worse than the Nazi party in Germany from World War Two. I’m not sure that having a carefree attitude and getting blotto all the time like the nihilists in the film is as bad as the Nazis, but the Republican Party is so hungry for that fascism that I have to write.
An ‘ethos’ is a belief. The fundamental character or spirit of a culture as the dictionary defines it, and the ‘ethos’ of MAGA is to serve, vote, spin, and dilute everything that their cult leader, Donald Trump does. That is to say there is no ‘ethos’ of MAGA, it exists only to serve the figure at the top in the world’s largest self esteem project. The smallest man in the history of New York City needs his army of reality tv fans to bend at the knee to him.
Living in the era of Trump makes me ponder about the time of Bill Clinton’s scandal, I was just becoming aware of politics at that time, and it was inescapable. The same party that made a meal out of Clinton for indiscretions with a staffer has now made the spine of their party a man with a much worse resume of scandal than whatever happened with Monica. I am not exaggerating, embellishing or doing anything other than stating facts about Donald Trump by comparison with this next part.
He has been found civilly liable for rape. Say what you want about Monica, that was clearly consensual. He has cheated on all 3 of his wives, often very publicly, with tabloid stories that he quietly promoted behind the scenes. The Stormy Daniels affair occurred while his wife was home with their newborn child, and the now criminal cover up of that story has been litigated. A jury of 12 peers has convicted him unanimously of felony charges related to the falsification of business records to hide the affair and influence the election.
That was a disgusting paragraph to type, and when you consider that evangelicals are the most consistent part of his base, it really tells you a lot about religion in this country. They create the same messiah complex that paralyzes their ability to think rationally about the world with respect to god, and apply it to Trump. As a recovering Catholic, I know that this isn’t the morality the church teaches, and the recent comparisons to Christ as another ‘unfairly convicted’ person make me sick to my stomach. Not as a person of faith, but as a fan of socialist philosophers of which Jesus Christ is the most famous.
Make no mistake, the MAGA movement is a nihilist movement. There is no cause, there is no issue, there is no platform, there is only the fake tan savior. Savior from what exactly? The United States becoming less white? It has been since its inception in 1776. Savior from corruption? Are you fucking kidding me? If nepotism in politics is a problem, it is not the ‘Biden Crime Family’ of which no family members served in the White House. Savior? Save your breath.
The liveforthepage Podcast Episode 11: Birthday Bash
The lovely Emily joins the podcast along with standard bearer Zach and his wonderful lady MyKayla where we discuss the issues of our day. Zach speaks on the passing of his mother and we tell stories about the old call center days. Love this group!
You Guys Like the WNBA Too?
It started for me with a new relationship with a wonderful woman named Emily, and I am proud to say this is my third WNBA season. It started with a Chicago Sky playoff run that landed just short, but as I watched more, I liked more. After the second game or so I was convinced that Candace Parker could get 2 points on any possession she had wind for. By the fourth game I had referred to Courtney Vandersloot as a, ‘video game player’ because if I was playing as her in 2K, I would hold sprint the whole time.
As that season ended we were then treated to the first Caitlin Clark Iowa run. The next year I went to a Chicago Sky game with my season ticket holder girlfriend. Following that, the next Caitlin Clark Iowa run, and by then people were talking about what Emily and I were talking about. This year, Caitlin Clark elevates a sport, like Tiger, like Serena, like LeBron. I count myself among the grateful for those I mentioned, and for what Caitlin is going to do with her career.
It hasn’t been all gravy however, the influx of new fans to a league they have no experience with has led to a lot of bad takes. I’ll get this out of the way, many view Caitlin as another great white hope in a league that is predominantly African American. Many have viewed her treatment so far as some kind of bullying, and racial animus abounds in these conversations. This league plays hard defense, and the NBA should take note of it. I also think it would just remind her of her last time in Columbus when she almost got knocked out leaving the floor. O-H.
Caitlin can take it, this is the same hazing that goes on in every professional sports league on the planet. It is possibly more exacerbated by the fact that she is on a really bad team, and is constantly double teamed. For the nay sayers, I have her on my fantasy team, and she’s doing just fine. That’s right, our family did a WNBA fantasy league this year, not because we’re degenerates but quite the opposite. Emily is crushing us of course, but the point is we are watching.
As I watched the most viewed WNBA draft of all time, I was so happy that Angel Reese went to Emily’s beloved Sky. She is a fantastic player, and I honestly believe there could be a remake of the Magic/Bird rivalry in the next decade. For all of you LeBron haters who pine for the glory days of the NBA in the 90’s, watch a WNBA game now. It is the most physical game of basketball this side of Pistons/Bulls with the ‘Jordan Rules’ era. Now for the challenge: don’t be afraid to love that women are doing it.
Emily is going to a Sky game and a Red Stars game today, a Chi-town delight. Although I disagree with their hot dog toppings and pizza depth, Chicago is a great sports town with great women’s teams. Columbus, I am lobbying you to demand NWSL and WNBA franchises! Everyone should celebrate the renaissance of the WNBA and not just use women’s sports as a political prop for anti-trans legislation. Like Ted Lasso says, ‘Everyone Watches Women’s Sports.’
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